Networks, Spokane stations to run tapes

September 21, 1998

The Spokesman-Review

Videotape of President Clinton’s Aug. 17 grand jury testimony will begin rolling on the major all-news cable television networks as soon as it is released to them this morning, but the three major broadcast networks plan to use only parts of the video at first, incorporated into live reports beginning at 9 a.m. or as soon as the tapes are released.

In Spokane, CBS affiliate KREM-TV plans to show the testimony starting at 6 a.m. without commercial interruption, said producer April Minister.

The tape will be shown with a 4-minute delay so people can be warned of offensive material.

The station will also run advisories warning of the sensitive nature of the testimony, she said.

KXLY, an ABC affiliate in Spokane, will interrupt its morning shows with 15-minute excerpts of testimony, either live or delayed, said spokeswoman Karen Tann. The station will also interrupt programming during the day with interesting excerpts that have been prescreened, she said.

Station KHQ, the NBC affiliate in Spokane, will determine how much of the testimony to show based on how interesting it is, said producer George Maupin.

CNN, MSNBC, Fox News Channel and C-SPAN all plan to carry the four hours’ worth of testimony in its entirety, spokesmen said. They will also release the videotaped testimony simultaneously on the web.

ABC, CBS and NBC will have their anchormen — Peter Jennings, Dan Rather and Tom Brokaw respectively — leading coverage of the videotape’s release, but all three were unsure how many excerpts they would run or how long they would stay on in the morning.